The sale of 89 Australian artworks from the collection of TV game show doyen Reg Grundy and his wife Joy Chambers-Grundy earned a stunning $19.16 million in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Grossing $15.7 million under the hammer, against earlier estimates of $15.5 million to $20.8 million, the total sale including auctioneers Bonhams' fees made it Australia's most valuable single-owner art auction ever.

The top performer was Fred Williams' You Yangs Landscape 1, 1963, which took $1.875 million under the hammer, to a total premium sale of $2,287,500.

The next biggest performer was the late Melbourne artist John Brack's The New House from 1953, which went for a premium sale of $1.952 million ($1.6 million under the hammer). It showed a woman in an apron leaning into her suited man by a home fireplace.

That painting had pride of place at the front of the auction room in the Overseas Passenger Terminal overlooking Sydney Harbour next to another John Brack from 1953, The Jockey and his Wife, which sold for more than expected at $1.159 million ($950,000 under the hammer).

The two paintings could well be a reflection of the bliss Grundy and his wife have in their long marriage and living in Bermuda, where they wanted to "simplify their life" by shedding the artwork.

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Even so, neither of them attended last night's auction. Joy Chambers-Grundy was said to have been emotional about parting with the paintings, having flown out of Sydney on Tuesday rather than attend the auction.

One work, a John Brack from 1956 entitled Footballers, showing four Australian Football League (then VFL) players in action on the field, was withdrawn from sale at the last moment. Perhaps it had sentimental value.

John Brack's The New House, 1953, sold for $1,952,000 at auction at Bonhams in Sydney.

Auctioneer and Bonhams CEO James Hendy was perhaps a little too fond of the word "iconic". Williams, Brack, Boyd, Fairweather, Hester, Roberts, Fulbrook: all were described with that word. But many of these were undoubtedly investment treasures; most reaching their anticipated market value.

Record prices were achieved for artist Herbert Badham for his 1933 work Travellers, with a hammer price $600,000 and a total including premium of $732,000 (it had been expected to go for just $200,000 to $300,000 under the hammer); for Margaret Preston's Native Honeysuckle, a premium of $463,600; Tony Tuckson's Pink, White line, Yellow Edge, Red Line Middle, 1970-73, $39,400; and a Narelle Jubelin work that fetched a premium of $122,000.

In all, 12 auction artist records were broken.

In a poignant moment, Jeffrey Smart's Luxury Cruise, 1972-73, fetched $550,000 under the hammer - higher than the $350,000 to $400,000 estimate - to a premium sale of $671,000 including fees.

Joy Chambers-Grundy was said to have been emotional about parting with the work.

There were some disappointments: work by Eugene von Guerard, The Farm of Mr Perry on the Yarra, 1855, failed to meet the reserve despite a $900,000-$1.2 million estimate and wasn't sold. Bidding on Ian Fairweather's Gamelan from 1958 reached $600,000 but it too failed to sell, despite being close to the lower estimate of $700,000 to $900,000.